European Kitchen Design Review

Mix of Natural Wood With Stainless Steel and Laminate - Zurich

Many of you know about my recent trip to Europe, including Amsterdam, Zurich, Lucerne and Milan. I brought back photos of kitchens that emphasize some common design elements. Enjoy!

Stand outs to me included:

• Mix of man made/technical materials with organic naturals
• Clean Lines
• Smaller footprint
• Use of graphic elements emanating from nature
• Key focus on great lighting

Graphic design elements and terrific lighting

Graphic design elements - etched glass room divider

The jury is out on this chandelier...

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The Design Minds at Hearth and Home Blog is geared to support design center staff and the new construction industry in selling options and upgrades to the new home consumer. Subscribe for updates. Contact Krisann Parker-Brown for merchandising or marketing support of your design center. She will be happy to work with you on your assortment and presentation to ensure you are on track for the upcoming decor and lifestyle trends.

Krisann Parker-Brown is the merchandising manager for Hearth and Home Technologies, the leading manufacturer and retailer of fireplaces and hearth systems. Krisann supports design centers and new construction builders in presenting Heat & Glo, Heatilator and Quadra-Fire hearth systems, and consulting on design center merchandising, point of sale and the consumer experience. Krisann is a member of the Institute of Store Planners, now the Retail Design Institute. Contact her at brownkr@hearthnhome.com or 952-985-6537.

Options Magazine Article - Selling Through Experiences and Connecting With Your Customer

Options Magazine is one of the respected trade publications for the home builder design center audience. In the new edition, check out the article on page 20 that reviews selling through experience, and the differences of shopping patterns by gender. In the home design center environment, we must adapt our selling style to best meet the needs and buying behavior of the homebuyer.

Read the article here by clicking on the cover image of the new edition. Subscribe to electronic mailing of new future editions here (free of charge). For those of you who received a printed copy this week (hopefully few of you in this green focused environment), the issue went to press with several editing errors, you will find a clean copy of the article on line for printing and forwarding.
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The Design Minds at Hearth and Home Blog is geared to support design center staff and the new construction industry in selling options and upgrades to the new home consumer. Subscribe for updates. Contact Krisann Parker-Brown for merchandising or marketing support of your design center. She will be happy to work with you on your assortment and presentation to ensure you are on track for the upcoming decor and lifestyle trends.

Krisann Parker-Brown is the merchandising manager for Hearth and Home Technologies, the leading manufacturer and retailer of fireplaces and hearth systems. Krisann supports design centers and new construction builders in presenting Heat & Glo, Heatilator and Quadra-Fire hearth systems, and consulting on design center merchandising, point of sale and the consumer experience. Krisann is a member of the Institute of Store Planners, now the Retail Design Institute. Contact her at brownkr@hearthnhome.com or 952-985-6537.

What Happened To The Jones' ?! - Selling Options to the 'Simplifier'

Hello all - This post is coming to you from Europe, where I am taking great photos to show you design influences from Amsterdam, Zurich, and tomorrow, Milan.... New post very soon!

Perfect for the Simplifier Consumer Interested in Experience and Design

Heat & Glo's Contemporary Fireplace

Red 40

The October Harvard Business School review features an article by Harvard professor John Quelch on the new breed of consumer – the middle-aged Simplifier.

This new consumer can be recognized by her refusal to ‘buy-in’ to the conspicuous consumption so popular in the 90’s and early 2000’s. John Quelch calls out the following characteristics:

Downsized- The simplifier perceives that they have more ‘stuff’ than they truly need, and looks to downsize and simplify.
Experiences- The simplifier seeks to add to life through rich experiences, not possessions. Dining out, foreign travel, spa experiences, learning a new sport, activity or hobby all fit the desires of this emerging consumer group.
Possessions– They are embarrassed by their possessions, especially those flagrant indicators of their wealth.
Wealth– Although this group is self assured in their wealth, they remain comfortable leasing their car, renting a vacation home, and no longer feel it necessary to amass possessions.

John Quelch tells us empty-nester baby boomers make up a large portion of this group, already trading in their large SUV’s for a Prius. They seek detail and architectural character in their new homes, and even special spaces to display a few carefully chosen items from their life ‘experiences’, be it travel, or painting lessons. They seek low maintenance, smaller spaces. From a design perspective, we see this consumer seeking clean, modern minimalism.

While this consumer is downsizing, they are not downscaling, and they value quality over quantity in goods. High end finishes and new home add-ons such as wine storage, closet organization, and luxury spa bathrooms will reach this consumer. Adding additional fireplaces in the home add to the ‘experience’ for this consumer, be it in the kitchen, bedroom or bathroom. Sarah Suzanka’s now 10 year classic “The Not So Big House” becomes even more of a guide in creating a finely crafted and well designed home interior that will satisfy this consumer.

John Quelch points to EBay and the internet as the high tech equivalent of a yard sale allowing these consumers to rid themselves of unnecessary things and start fresh.
The October 2008 issue of Details gives well to do, style conscious men tips on how to minimize the showy appearances of wealth and status in these uncertain times. A recent Wall Street Journal article discusses the same, as well as John Quelch’s article in The Economist, “Too Much Stuff”.

When selling to this consumer, speak to quality, design, durability and green aspects of features and upgrades. This consumer may be more willing to upgrade in interior experiential home options rather than status exterior home upgrades. Think outdoor living rooms, luxury shower heads, art niches, fireplaces and top end granites. The important thing to this consumer is quality without showiness. The Jones’ be damned.
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The Design Minds at Hearth and Home Blog is geared to support design center staff and the new construction industry in selling options and upgrades to the new home consumer. Subscribe for updates. Contact Krisann Parker-Brown for merchandising or marketing support of your design center. She will be happy to work with you on your assortment and presentation to ensure you are on track for the upcoming decor and lifestyle trends.

Krisann Parker-Brown is the merchandising manager for Hearth and Home Technologies, the leading manufacturer and retailer of fireplaces and hearth systems. Krisann supports design centers and new construction builders in presenting Heat & Glo, Heatilator and Quadra-Fire hearth systems, and consulting on design center merchandising, point of sale and the consumer experience. Krisann is a member of the Institute of Store Planners, now the Retail Design Institute. Contact her at brownkr@hearthnhome.com or 952-985-6537.